A mesothelioma diagnosis in New Hampshire may open more than one path to compensation. Families can typically pursue claims against the manufacturers and suppliers of the asbestos products that caused the disease, claims against the owners of the private mills, power plants, and other worksites where the exposure happened, claims against asbestos bankruptcy trusts that hold money set aside specifically for asbestos victims, and benefits where the work history qualifies — including FECA for civil-service workers at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and other federal installations, LHWCA for employees of private contractors at the shipyard, workers' compensation, VA benefits for veterans, and Social Security disability for workers under full retirement age.
New Hampshire gives a diagnosed worker three years to file a personal-injury claim. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. Families calling after a death usually have three years from the date of death, but if the worker's own three years ran out before the death, the family's claim may be barred too. The safest step is to call as soon as possible after diagnosis.
You do not need to know the name of the asbestos product before you call. Most cases are built backward from a worker's job history — the shipyard, the paper mill, the generating station, the construction site — using employment records, coworker recollections, and a national exposure database to identify which manufacturers' products were on those jobsites and which trusts cover them. Many strong cases begin with one sentence: "Dad worked at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard."
You don't need the product names or old records. No fee unless we recover compensation for your family.
Quick answers
| How long do we have to file? | Three years for the worker's personal-injury case. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. If an earlier X-ray, CT scan or screening showed asbestos-related scarring, a New Hampshire court may count the three years from that earlier finding, so call us right away. After a death, the estate brings the worker's own claim and the family's wrongful-death claim together, usually within three years from the date of death; if the worker's own three years ran out before the death, the family's claim may be barred too. |
|---|---|
| Does a claim always mean filing a lawsuit? | No. Many families recover through asbestos trust claims and federal benefits without ever going to court. We will not pressure you into a court case you do not want. |
| Who may be responsible? | The manufacturers and suppliers of the asbestos products (insulation, gaskets, packing, refractory materials, friction products), and in some cases the owners of the private mills, power plants, and other worksites where the exposure happened. |
| What compensation may be available? | Medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and — for families after a death — the value of the life lost, the surviving spouse's loss of companionship, and a minor child's loss of a parent. New Hampshire has no general cap on compensatory damages in personal-injury cases. |
| What evidence do we need to start? | A diagnosis and a basic work history. We can help reconstruct the rest from employment records, coworker statements, union records, and our exposure database. |
| Can an adult child or spouse call? | Yes. Most first calls come from a spouse or adult child. We are used to working with families. |
| Do I have to come to your office? | No. We work with New Hampshire families remotely by phone, video, and mail. Home visits where helpful. |
“I started this firm after learning that the cancers that killed my father and grandparents were caused by asbestos, something we did not realize until it was too late to hold anyone accountable. That experience is why we built this site: so that no other family misses their chance to ask the questions, hear the options, and decide for themselves what to do.”
Was the exposure at a New Hampshire shipyard, paper mill, power plant, or federal facility?
New Hampshire's asbestos history is anchored by one of the oldest federal shipyards in the country, a long pulp-and-paper corridor running up the Androscoggin and Connecticut valleys, the state's network of generating stations, the historic Manchester textile mills, and a Cold War Strategic Air Command bomber base on the seacoast. The asbestos trusts' lists hold 277 New Hampshire entries across 60 communities, from 22 asbestos trusts.
| New Hampshire worksite | City | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth Naval Shipyard | Kittery, Maine (across the river from Portsmouth) | Navy submarine yard since 1800, with a workforce drawn heavily from the New Hampshire seacoast. At least 11 trusts, including Johns-Manville. Civil-service workers are covered by FECA. |
| Brown Company paper mills | Berlin | Pulp and paper mills on the Androscoggin, later James River. At least 9 trusts, including Johns-Manville. |
| PSNH Merrimack Station | Bow | Coal-fired generating station on the Merrimack (first unit 1960). At least 5 trusts, including Johns-Manville. |
| PSNH Schiller Station | Portsmouth | Seacoast generating station on the Piscataqua. At least 5 trusts, including Johns-Manville. |
| Groveton paper mill (Diamond International, Wausau) | Groveton | North Country paper mill near the Connecticut River. At least 5 trusts, including Johns-Manville. |
| Dartmouth College | Hanover | Central heating plant and campus steam lines. At least 5 trusts, including Johns-Manville. |
| Claremont Paper Mill (Bemis Bro. Bag) | Claremont | Sullivan County paper mill on the Sugar River. At least 4 trusts, including Johns-Manville. |
| Seabrook Station nuclear power plant | Seabrook | Nuclear plant built from 1976, in service since 1990. At least 4 trusts, including Johns-Manville. |
| Pease Air Force Base | Portsmouth | SAC bomber base 1956–1991, now Pease International Tradeport. At least 4 trusts, including Johns-Manville. VA for veterans; FECA for civil-service workers. |
| Anheuser-Busch brewery | Merrimack | Industrial brewery with steam and process piping. At least 3 trusts, including Johns-Manville. |
Check New Hampshire asbestos exposure sites
Not seeing the worksite? That does not mean your family has no claim. Many successful claims are built from product-handling reconstruction, coworker information, historical invoices, trust documents, and records from similar worksites.
Your legal options after a New Hampshire mesothelioma diagnosis
Think in claim paths, not one lawsuit. Most New Hampshire mesothelioma families have more than one of the following open to them; which to pursue, and in what order, depends on the case.
Asbestos trust claims
Dozens of asbestos manufacturers filed for bankruptcy and established asbestos trusts — pools of money set aside specifically to pay people sickened by their products. Trust claims are paperwork filed with each trust, not lawsuits. Whether to file them before, alongside, or after a lawsuit depends on the case. The trusts' lists hold New Hampshire entries from 22 asbestos trusts. Learn more about asbestos trust claims.
Product liability lawsuits
Many of the companies that made and sold asbestos insulation, gaskets, packing, refractory products, and friction materials are still in business — or have insurance that survives. These cases are filed in New Hampshire Superior Court or federal court and seek the full range of compensatory damages. Learn more about product liability lawsuits.
Premises liability lawsuits
The owners of the private mills, power plants, and industrial sites where the exposure happened can also be responsible. New Hampshire holds owners and occupiers of land to reasonable care under all the circumstances. The Navy and the Air Force are not premises defendants: a federal civil-service worker's remedy against the United States is FECA. Learn more about premises liability lawsuits.
Workers' compensation, LHWCA, FECA, VA, and Social Security
Benefits often run alongside the civil case. For New Hampshire, the most common paths are FECA (the Federal Employees' Compensation Act) for civil-service workers at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Pease, and other federal installations, LHWCA (Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act) for employees of private contractors working at the shipyard, New Hampshire workers' compensation for other workers, VA service-connected disability for Navy and Air Force veterans (including Pease AFB alumni), and Social Security disability for workers under full retirement age. These programs interact with the civil case: FECA and workers' compensation take repayment out of a lawsuit recovery, VA and FECA benefits for the same disease generally require a choice between them, and workers' compensation can reduce Social Security disability. A civil or trust recovery doesn't reduce VA disability. Learn more about asbestos disability claims.
"Can we choose not to sue?"
Yes. Some New Hampshire families pursue only asbestos trust claims and federal benefits and never file a lawsuit. We respect that decision. We will not pressure you into a court case you do not want.
Uncomfortable with the idea of a lawsuit? So was Clarence Borel. He spent 33 years as an insulator on the Gulf Coast and didn't believe in suing anyone — until he realized his coworkers would die the same way he was dying. His 1969 lawsuit helped establish the product-liability law that protects families today, and the cases that followed it eventually led to the bankruptcy trusts that pay claims now. Read his story.
How long do I have to file a New Hampshire mesothelioma claim?
New Hampshire gives a diagnosed worker three years to file a personal-injury case. Because mesothelioma has a 20-to-50-year latency, the clock does not start at the long-ago job. New Hampshire's deadline statute writes the "discovery rule" into the law: when the injury and its link to the exposure couldn't reasonably have been discovered earlier, the three years run from when they were, or reasonably should have been, discovered. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. If an earlier X-ray, CT scan or screening showed asbestos-related scarring, a New Hampshire court may count the three years from that earlier finding, so call us right away.
After a death, New Hampshire handles the worker's own claim and the family's wrongful-death claim as one case, brought by the administrator of the worker's estate. It usually must be filed within three years from the date of death. But New Hampshire makes the death claim subject to the worker's own three-year deadline, so if the worker's own three years ran out before the death, the family's claim may be barred too. A case filed during the worker's life continues after death if the administrator steps in on time. Filing while the worker is alive also lets him testify about where he worked and what he handled, so call as soon as possible after diagnosis.
Call 833-4-ASBESTOS for a free case review.
Legal detail: New Hampshire filing deadlines
Personal injury — 3 years. RSA 508:4(I): "all personal actions ... may be brought only within 3 years of the act or omission complained of," except that where "the injury and its causal relationship to the act or omission were not discovered and could not reasonably have been discovered" at the time, the action must be brought "within 3 years of the time the plaintiff discovers, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury and its causal relationship to the act or omission complained of." The trigger is discovery of both the injury and its cause, which can come before a formal diagnosis. No New Hampshire decision says whether an earlier asbestosis or pleural finding starts the clock for a later mesothelioma.
Wrongful death — 3 years from death. RSA 556:11 allows an action not pending at death "within 6 years after the death of the deceased party, subject to the provisions of RSA 508." The New Hampshire Supreme Court applies RSA 508:4's three years (Cheever v. S. N.H. Reg'l Med. Ctr., 141 N.H. 589 (1997)) and counts them from the date of death (Anderson v. Estate of Wood, 171 N.H. 524 (2018)); in Anderson the claim was timely because it "was not time-barred by RSA 508:4 at the time of [the] death." The administrator brings or continues the action (RSA 556:9–556:12). A case pending at death continues if the administrator appears before the end of the second term of court after the death (RSA 556:10).
Statute of repose — improvements to real property. RSA 508:4-b(I) bars actions "arising out of any deficiency in the creation of an improvement to real property, including without limitation the design, labor, materials ..." more than 8 years after substantial completion. In Phaneuf Funeral Home v. Little Giant Pump Co., 163 N.H. 727 (2012), it barred the claim against the installer but not the claims against the makers and sellers of a product installed in a building, while suggesting that a product designed to become part of the building might be treated differently. It does not protect an owner or possessor in control of the property (§ 508:4-b(VI)) and does not apply to deficiencies in improvements for nuclear power generation, nuclear-waste storage, or long-term storage of hazardous materials (§ 508:4-b(V)(b)). The 12-year product-liability repose still printed at RSA 507-D:2 was voided in Heath v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 123 N.H. 512 (1983).
Workers' compensation deadlines. For an occupational disease, the date of injury is the later of the last injurious exposure or when the worker knew or should have known of the condition and its link to work (RSA 281-A:16). Notice to the employer is due within 2 years (RSA 281-A:19) and the claim within 3 years (RSA 281-A:21-a), each with its own discovery rule. FECA and LHWCA have their own notice and claim deadlines.
Maine law at the shipyard. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard stands on Seavey Island in Kittery, Maine, and the First Circuit applied Maine law to exposure there (Dube v. Pittsburgh Corning, 870 F.2d 790 (1st Cir. 1989)). Maine law may govern parts of a shipyard case; see our Maine page.
Who can be sued in a New Hampshire asbestos case?
In most New Hampshire mesothelioma cases, the defendants are not the worker's employer. They are the companies that made and sold the asbestos products — and, in some cases, the owners of the private industrial sites where the exposure happened.
Product manufacturers and suppliers
The manufacturers and suppliers of asbestos pipe insulation, block insulation, gaskets, packing, refractory materials, friction products, joint compounds, and related products are the core defendants. The trusts' lists document products from Johns-Manville, Owens Corning, Fibreboard, Eagle-Picher, Babcock & Wilcox, Pittsburgh Corning, Owens-Illinois, U.S. Gypsum, Flexitallic, and others at New Hampshire sites; most of those companies now pay through trusts, while other makers and suppliers remain in business or insured.
Premises owners and site operators
New Hampshire holds owners and occupiers of land to reasonable care under all the circumstances; why a person was on the property still matters to what care was reasonable. A premises claim against a mill or power-plant owner depends on what the owner knew and controlled, and no New Hampshire decision has settled what an owner owes an outside contractor's workers for asbestos hazards. The Navy and the Air Force are not premises defendants (see the shipyard section below).
Asbestos bankruptcy trusts
Trust claims are paperwork filed with the trusts set up when major asbestos manufacturers went into bankruptcy, not lawsuits. When to file them is decided case by case.
Employers
Direct lawsuits against the worker's employer are barred by New Hampshire workers' compensation, which is the exclusive remedy between employee and employer. That bar does not extend to the product manufacturers, the trusts, or the owners of other companies' worksites — which is why almost every New Hampshire asbestos case is a third-party case. Where the site owner was also the worker's employer, the bar protects it too. Federal civil-service workers are covered by FECA instead.
Legal detail: New Hampshire product liability, premises liability, and workers' compensation
Products liability. New Hampshire applies strict products liability under Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A (Buttrick v. Arthur Lessard & Sons, Inc., 110 N.H. 36 (1969); Thibault v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 118 N.H. 802 (1978)), along with negligence. Manufacturers can raise a state-of-the-art defense that the risks "were not discoverable using prevailing research and scientific techniques under the state of the art" and were also not discoverable using procedures required by the federal or state regulators of the product, measured when the product left their hands (RSA 507:8-g). Defendants may also argue that a sophisticated employer or purchaser, not the supplier, should have given the warning; the New Hampshire Supreme Court has not settled that defense for failure-to-warn claims. Manufacturers of military-specification products often raise the federal government-contractor defense, which requires reasonably precise specifications approved by the United States, conformity with them, and a warning to the government of dangers known to the supplier but not the government (Boyle v. United Technologies Corp., 487 U.S. 500 (1988)); such cases are often removed to federal court.
Causation. The plaintiff must show that each company's product was a cause in fact of the disease and a substantial factor in bringing it about (Bronson v. Hitchcock Clinic, 140 N.H. 798 (1996); Peterson v. Gray, 137 N.H. 374 (1993), rejecting a sole-cause requirement). Both are medical-negligence cases; no New Hampshire appellate decision sets an asbestos-specific exposure test.
Premises liability. Ouellette v. Blanchard, 116 N.H. 552 (1976): owners and occupiers of land "shall be governed by the test of reasonable care under all the circumstances in the maintenance and operation of their property." The entrant's status remains relevant to what care is reasonable.
Assumption of risk. Under comparative fault, a worker's own conduct, including knowingly encountering a danger, is weighed as fault rather than barring the claim outright (Thibault, 118 N.H. 802, as discussed in Heath, 123 N.H. 512).
Workers' compensation. RSA 281-A:8(I)(a) bars an employee's claims against the employer and its insurance carrier; the exception for intentional torts in § 281-A:8(I)(b) reaches co-employees and officers, not the employer (Karch v. BayBank FSB, 147 N.H. 525 (2002)). Where a worker's asbestos exposure came in the course of employment with the company that made the products, the court found no "dual capacity" that would allow a suit against it as manufacturer (Quinn v. National Gypsum Co., 124 N.H. 418 (1983)). An employer that failed to carry required workers' compensation coverage loses that immunity (RSA 281-A:7(IV)). A spouse has no direct action against the employer on account of the worker's injury or death (§ 281-A:8(II)). Third-party claims against manufacturers and other companies are preserved (§ 281-A:13(I)). The employer or its carrier has a lien on the recovery, less expenses, for the benefits it paid; no third-party settlement is binding until approved by the labor commissioner or the court; and if the worker doesn't sue within 9 months after the injury, the employer or carrier may sue the third party itself (§ 281-A:13(I)(b), (III)).
What compensation can a New Hampshire mesothelioma case recover?
New Hampshire has no general cap on compensatory damages in personal-injury cases: the state supreme court struck down its cap on noneconomic damages in 1991. The wrongful-death limits below apply only to a spouse's and minor children's losses after a death.
Personal-injury compensation
A diagnosed worker's claim can recover:
- Medical expenses — past and future
- Lost income and lost earning capacity
- Pain and suffering, physical impairment, and loss of enjoyment of life
- Out-of-pocket costs related to the illness
- In exceptional cases, enhanced compensatory damages where a company's conduct was wanton, malicious, or oppressive (see legal detail)
New Hampshire also keeps the collateral source rule: the family can recover the reasonable value of medical care even if Medicare, Medicaid, or insurance paid the bills, although some of those payers have repayment rights.
Wrongful-death compensation
For a family after a death, the administrator of the worker's estate recovers the worker's mental and physical pain, the expenses the illness caused, his lost earning capacity, and the value of the life lost. A surviving spouse can recover up to $500,000 for the loss of companionship, and each minor child up to $300,000 for the loss of a parent (limits in place since January 1, 2025). Adult children have no separate claim of their own.
Legal detail: New Hampshire damages, enhanced compensatory damages, and wrongful death
No general cap. New Hampshire has no statutory cap on compensatory damages in personal-injury cases; RSA 508:4-d's noneconomic cap was held unconstitutional (Brannigan v. Usitalo, 134 N.H. 50 (1991)). The caps in RSA 556:12(II)–(III) apply only in wrongful death, and RSA 556:13 limits a death recovery to $50,000 where the decedent left no spouse, child, parent, or dependent relative.
Collateral source rule. Clough v. Schwartz, 94 N.H. 138 (1946): medical bills paid by a third party remain recoverable. The New Hampshire Supreme Court hasn't decided whether the measure is the amount billed or the amount paid where insurers wrote the bills down.
Punitive damages and enhanced compensatory damages. RSA 507:16: "No punitive damages shall be awarded in any action, unless otherwise provided by statute." Where conduct is wanton, malicious, or oppressive, compensatory damages may reflect the aggravating circumstances (Vratsenes v. N.H. Auto, Inc., 112 N.H. 71 (1972)). That requires actual malice — ill will, hatred, hostility, or evil motive — and applies only in exceptional cases (Munson v. Raudonis, 118 N.H. 474 (1978)).
Wrongful death and survival — combined statute. New Hampshire's statute combines survival and wrongful death (Lozier v. Brown Co., 121 N.H. 67 (1981)). Tort actions for physical injury survive only as RSA 556:9–14 provides; the administrator brings or continues the action (RSA 556:9–556:12), and the damages become part of the estate (RSA 556:14). RSA 556:12(I) allows "the mental and physical pain suffered by the deceased in consequence of the injury, the reasonable expenses occasioned to the estate by the injury, the probable duration of life but for the injury, and the capacity to earn money during the deceased party's probable working life"; "probable duration of life" allows damages for the loss of life itself (Marcotte v. Timberlane/Hampstead Sch. Dist., 143 N.H. 331 (1999)). A surviving spouse may recover for loss of comfort, society, and companionship up to $500,000 (§ 556:12(II)); a minor child of a deceased parent, or the parent of a deceased minor child, may recover for loss of familial relationship up to $300,000 per claimant (§ 556:12(III)). Both are reduced for the decedent's or claimant's fault. 2024 N.H. Laws ch. 160 raised the limits from $150,000 and $50,000, effective January 1, 2025.
What evidence do we need to prove a New Hampshire asbestos case?
You do not need to gather everything before calling. Most evidence is reconstructed by our team after the first call, using our database, public records, union archives, and product literature.
| Evidence | Why it helps | What if you do not have it? |
|---|---|---|
| Pathology report and medical records | Confirms the mesothelioma diagnosis, the date we count the deadline from to be safe | We can request records directly from Dartmouth-Hitchcock, the VA, or any treating facility once you sign authorizations |
| Work history — employers, dates, job titles | Identifies which products and trusts apply | A general timeline is enough to start; Social Security and union records fill in details |
| Coworker names | Supports product identification and exposure reconstruction | Coworker recollections are common evidence; we work without them when needed |
| DD-214 (military service) | Establishes Navy / Air Force / shipyard service for VA benefits | We can request through standard military records channels |
| Union records (pipefitters, boilermakers, electricians) | Documents jobsites and product handling | Many union locals retain decades of records; we know who to ask |
| Photographs of jobsites or equipment | Helpful but rarely required | Most cases proceed without them |
You do not need product names, invoices, or specific brand recollections to start a New Hampshire case. The reconstruction work is ours.
How does New Hampshire divide responsibility when many asbestos companies were involved?
Most mesothelioma cases involve many manufacturers' products over many decades.
In New Hampshire, a company found 50% or more at fault can be made to pay the whole verdict, less what settling companies have paid; a company under 50% pays only its own share. The jury can also assign fault to companies that aren't in the case, including bankrupt manufacturers and the employer, which can lower each company's share. Companies found to have knowingly taken part in a common plan that caused the harm are each responsible for the whole, and whether that applies depends on the proof against each company.
On the plaintiff's side, New Hampshire uses an "aggregate" comparative-fault rule: the worker's own share of fault reduces the recovery, and bars it only if it is greater than the fault of all the companies together.
Legal detail: comparative negligence, joint and several liability, and settlement credits
Comparative fault — aggregate approach. RSA 507:7-d: the plaintiff's fault does not bar recovery "if such fault was not greater than the fault of the defendant, or the defendants in the aggregate"; damages are reduced by the plaintiff's share.
Joint and several liability. RSA 507:7-e(I)(b): judgment is entered on the rules of joint and several liability, "except that if any party shall be less than 50 percent at fault, then that party's liability shall be several and not joint."
Fault of companies not in the case. For apportionment, "party" includes settling parties, immune parties, and others not before the court (DeBenedetto v. CLD Consulting Eng'rs, Inc., 153 N.H. 793 (2006)). The jury may assign fault to an immune employer, and the plaintiff's fault is compared with all of them together (Ocasio v. Fed. Express Corp., 162 N.H. 436 (2011)).
Common plan or design. RSA 507:7-e(I)(c): parties "found to have knowingly pursued or taken active part in a common plan or design resulting in the harm" are jointly and severally liable regardless of their share. No New Hampshire decision has applied it to asbestos manufacturers; it depends on the proof against each company.
Uncollectible shares. RSA 507:7-e(III): on a motion filed not later than 60 days after final judgment, the court reallocates any uncollectible share among the other defendants according to their proportionate shares.
Settlement credits. A release given to one company "reduces the claim of the releasing person against other persons by the amount of the consideration paid for the release" (RSA 507:7-h), and the court reduces the verdict by settlement amounts after trial (RSA 507:7-i). Defendants may argue that trust payments count.
How trust claims, lawsuits, and benefits can work together
| Track | What it is | How it interacts |
|---|---|---|
| Asbestos trust claims | Paperwork filed with bankruptcy trusts set up by manufacturers like Johns-Manville and Owens Corning | Separate from the civil case, but trust payments are disclosed in litigation and defendants may seek credit for them; when to file is decided case by case |
| Civil case | Lawsuit in New Hampshire Superior Court or federal court against solvent manufacturers and other responsible companies | Settlements with one company reduce the claim against the others, and the jury can assign fault to bankrupt companies |
| Benefits | FECA for federal civil-service workers; LHWCA for private shipyard contractors' employees; New Hampshire workers' compensation; VA for veterans; SSDI for workers under full retirement age | FECA and workers' compensation take repayment from a lawsuit recovery; VA and FECA for the same disease generally require a choice; a civil or trust recovery doesn't reduce VA disability |
New Hampshire shipyard, Navy, and federal-facility exposure
New Hampshire's federal-facility footprint is modest in number but historically significant. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has operated since 1800 on Seavey Island in Kittery, Maine, at the mouth of the Piscataqua River, with a workforce drawn heavily from the New Hampshire seacoast. The shipyard's submarine construction and overhaul work involved asbestos pipe insulation, gaskets, packing, refractory work, and related products. The yard is recognized by at least 11 asbestos trusts, including Johns-Manville, more than any other New Hampshire worksite on the trusts' lists.
Pease Air Force Base at Portsmouth was a Strategic Air Command bomber base operational from 1956 to 1991 — flying B-47, B-52, and KC-135 aircraft. Closed in 1991 and converted to Pease International Tradeport. The Manchester-Boston Regional Airport sits on the former Grenier Field Air National Guard Base and operates today as a joint civilian-military facility. VA Medical Center at Manchester and other VA facilities round out the federal footprint.
Federal program coverage:
- FECA (Federal Employees' Compensation Act) — civil-service workers at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Pease, and other federal installations. FECA is their only remedy against the United States, and FECA takes a refund out of any recovery from a manufacturer.
- LHWCA (Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act) — employees of private contractors working at the shipyard
- VA service-connected disability — Navy, Air Force, Army, Marine, and Coast Guard veterans (including Pease AFB alumni); the VA has no automatic presumption for asbestos diseases, but it treats in-service asbestos exposure as likely for many Navy ratings; a claim still needs a diagnosis and a doctor's opinion linking the disease to service
- Social Security disability — for workers under full retirement age
These sources interact. FECA and workers' compensation take repayment out of a lawsuit recovery, and VA and FECA benefits for the same disease generally require a choice between them. A civil or trust recovery doesn't reduce VA disability.
Legal detail: FECA, LHWCA, and claims involving the United States
FECA. Federal civilian employees are covered by FECA (5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.). Its liability is exclusive of any other liability of the United States to the employee, spouse, dependents, and next of kin (§ 8116(c)). An employee who recovers from a third party must refund the compensation paid, and any surplus is credited against future compensation (§ 8132). A person entitled to FECA and to other federal benefits, such as VA benefits, for the same injury or death must elect which to receive (§ 8116(b)). LHWCA excludes officers and employees of the United States (33 U.S.C. § 903(b)).
LHWCA. Employees of private contractors working at the shipyard may be covered by the LHWCA, which is their exclusive remedy against their employer (33 U.S.C. § 905(a)). A settlement with a third party for less than the compensation due needs the prior written approval of the employer and its insurer (§ 933(g)); accepting compensation under an award assigns the worker's third-party claim to the employer unless the worker sues within six months (§ 933(b)); and the employer is credited with the worker's net third-party recovery (§ 933(f)).
The United States as defendant. The Navy and the Air Force are not premises defendants for their civilian employees. A household member's own claim against the United States goes through the Federal Tort Claims Act, which requires a written administrative claim to the agency within two years after the claim accrues, and a lawsuit within six months after the agency mails a final denial (28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)). In Dube v. Pittsburgh Corning, 870 F.2d 790 (1st Cir. 1989), a shipyard worker's daughter exposed to asbestos on his work clothes settled with asbestos manufacturers, which then sued the United States for contribution; the trial court found the government negligent under Maine law, and the First Circuit held the discretionary-function exception did not apply.
What happens after you call?
A free case review is a conversation, not a commitment to file a lawsuit.
- First call. A short conversation — the worker (or spouse or adult child) walks us through job history. No documents required.
- Initial assessment. We identify likely worksites, applicable trusts, and the federal programs that may apply (LHWCA, VA, FECA, SSDI).
- Records gathering. With your signed authorizations, we request medical records, employment records, and military records.
- Trust filings. We prepare asbestos trust claims as the documentation supports them; when to file them is decided case by case.
- Civil case filing. Where appropriate, we file the New Hampshire lawsuit and coordinate with national counsel.
- Benefits. We coordinate FECA, LHWCA, VA, workers' compensation, and SSDI claims with the rest of the case.
- Settlement or trial. Most asbestos cases settle. We prepare every case as if it will go to trial. If a case goes to trial and is lost, New Hampshire courts usually award the winning side its court costs, which can include expert-witness costs. We discuss every settlement offer with the family before anyone responds to it.
Call 833-4-ASBESTOS when you are ready.
How New Hampshire's laws may work in practice
Robert is a 71-year-old retired pipefitter from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. From 1973 through 2005 he was a civil-service pipefitter at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, working on submarine overhauls: replacing pipe insulation, gaskets, and valve packing, and working beside insulators as they stripped and re-covered steam piping. He retired in 2005. He never served in the military.
In late 2025, Robert noticed a painless scrotal swelling he first attributed to a routine hydrocele. When the swelling persisted, a urologist referred him for surgery, and in February 2026 a radical orchiectomy at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center led to the diagnosis. Pathology confirmed testicular mesothelioma of the epithelioid histological subtype — a rare form (approximately 1% of all mesothelioma cases) that arises from the mesothelial lining of the tunica vaginalis and is recognized in the medical literature as asbestos-related.
Robert files his personal-injury case in Rockingham County Superior Court, where he lives, well before February 2029, counting three years from the diagnosis, because his late-2025 swelling alone did not point to asbestos. The case is brought in strict products liability and negligence against the companies that made and sold the insulation, gaskets, packing, and refractory products he worked with. Because the yard is in Kittery, Maine law may govern parts of the case. The shipyard is recognized by at least 11 asbestos trusts, including Johns-Manville, and his work history supports trust claims; when to file them is decided case by case. As a civil-service Navy employee, Robert is covered by FECA, which is his only remedy against the Navy, so there is no premises claim against the shipyard; if the lawsuit recovers money, FECA takes a refund out of it. At 71, Robert is past full retirement age, so Social Security disability isn't available, and with no military service he has no VA claim. New Hampshire does not allow punitive damages, but we would look at whether the evidence shows actual malice by a particular company, which could support enhanced compensatory damages. Robert's wife and adult children lived with the dust on his work clothes for years. As part of our representation, we offer free asbestos health screening to family members of every client who may have been exposed at home. The screening is a chest X-ray read by a B-reader, with a CT scan if needed; it looks for asbestos-related changes in the lungs and isn't a diagnosis or a reliable way to find mesothelioma early. No New Hampshire court has decided whether companies owed a duty to household members, and a household member's own claim against the United States would go through the Federal Tort Claims Act. If Robert dies while his case is pending, the administrator of his estate must step in and take over the case in time (before the end of the second term of court after his death), and the wrongful-death damages are pursued in that case; his wife can recover up to $500,000 for the loss of his companionship, while his adult children have no separate claim of their own.
Legal analysis of this hypothetical
Deadline. RSA 508:4(I): three years from discovery of the injury and its causal relationship. Robert's swelling in late 2025 was taken for a hydrocele and didn't reveal its cause; the February 2026 diagnosis did. Filing well before February 2029 keeps a margin. If he dies while the case is pending, the administrator must appear and take over the prosecution before the end of the second term of court after the death (RSA 556:10); the three years from death under RSA 556:11 and Anderson v. Estate of Wood, 171 N.H. 524 (2018), apply only where no action was pending.
Forum and law. Venue in Rockingham County, where Robert resides (RSA 507:9). The exposure happened in Kittery, Maine, so Maine law may govern parts of the case (Dube v. Pittsburgh Corning, 870 F.2d 790 (1st Cir. 1989)).
Pleading theory.
- Strict products liability (§ 402A; Buttrick; Thibault) and negligence against the makers and sellers of the pipe insulation, gaskets, packing, and refractory products at the yard
- Expect the government-contractor defense (Boyle) and federal-officer removal for Navy-specification products, and the state-of-the-art defense (RSA 507:8-g)
- Enhanced compensatory damages only if the evidence shows a particular company's actual malice (Vratsenes; Munson v. Raudonis, 118 N.H. 474 (1978))
Causation. Product-by-product proof that each company's product was a cause in fact of the disease and a substantial factor in it (Bronson v. Hitchcock Clinic, 140 N.H. 798 (1996)).
Fault and joint liability. RSA 507:7-d (aggregate comparison). Defendants will ask the jury to assign fault to the Navy and to bankrupt manufacturers (DeBenedetto; Ocasio). A company 50% or more at fault is jointly liable (§ 507:7-e(I)(b)); settlements reduce the claim (§ 507:7-h).
Damages. No general cap. The reasonable value of medical care (Clough v. Schwartz, 94 N.H. 138 (1946)); pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life (Bennett v. Lembo, 145 N.H. 276 (2000)). No punitive damages (RSA 507:16).
Trust claims. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is recognized by at least 11 trusts: Babcock & Wilcox, Combustion Engineering, Eagle-Picher, Fibreboard, Flexitallic, Owens Corning, Owens-Illinois, Pittsburgh Corning, U.S. Gypsum, Yarway, and Johns-Manville. Defendants may seek credit for trust payments.
Benefits. FECA: exclusive against the United States (5 U.S.C. § 8116(c)), with a refund out of the third-party recovery (§ 8132). No LHWCA (33 U.S.C. § 903(b)), no SSDI (past full retirement age), no VA (no military service).
If Robert dies. The administrator takes over the pending case (RSA 556:10). Damages under § 556:12(I), including the value of the life lost (Marcotte); his wife up to $500,000 (§ 556:12(II)); no § 556:12(III) claim for adult children.
This example is general. Every case depends on the diagnosis, exposure history, dates, defendants, applicable law, and available evidence.
Why families choose our firm
Our firm has recovered over $400 million for asbestos clients nationally. Our New Hampshire work draws on a database of 200,000+ asbestos exposure sites nationally, including all 277 New Hampshire entries on the asbestos trusts' lists, across 60 communities. We routinely get claims approved by many asbestos trusts.
- No investigation lag. We often know on day one which trusts recognize your worksite. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is recognized by at least 11 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
- Pleading strategy built for New Hampshire law. Product-by-product causation proof, the aggregate comparative-fault rule, the 50% joint-liability rule and its common-plan exception, reallocation of uncollectible shares, the collateral source rule, and wrongful-death damages for the value of the life lost.
- Portsmouth Naval Shipyard experience. Civil-service shipyard workers are covered by FECA, and private contractors' employees by LHWCA; we coordinate those claims with trust claims, VA benefits for Navy veterans, and the civil case.
- Filing during life. A worker who files while alive can testify about where he worked and what he handled, and filing early protects the deadline. Call as soon as possible after diagnosis.
- Benefits coordination. FECA, LHWCA, VA, workers' compensation, and SSDI claims coordinated with the civil case and trust claims, including the repayment rights some of them carry.
- Remote case handling. We work with New Hampshire families by phone, video, and mail. You do not need to travel to our office.
- No fee unless we recover. Contingent fee.
Frequently asked questions
What is the statute of limitations for mesothelioma in New Hampshire?
Three years. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. If an earlier X-ray, CT scan or screening showed asbestos-related scarring, a New Hampshire court may count the three years from that earlier finding, so call us right away.
Is the deadline different if my loved one already died?
Usually three years from the date of death. But New Hampshire makes the death claim subject to the worker's own three-year deadline, so if the worker's own three years ran out before the death, the family's claim may be barred too. Call as early as possible.
Can my family still call if my loved one already died?
Yes. New Hampshire combines the worker's own claim and the family's wrongful-death claim in one case brought by the administrator of the estate. It can recover the worker's pain and suffering, medical and other expenses, lost earning capacity, and the value of the life lost, plus up to $500,000 for a surviving spouse and up to $300,000 for each minor child.
Do I need to know the asbestos product names?
No. Most workers don't. We reconstruct product exposure from job history, employer records, union archives, coworker information, and our national exposure database.
Do I need old employment records before calling?
No. A general timeline of where the worker worked and roughly when is enough to start. We request Social Security earnings records, union records, and military records on your behalf.
Can an adult child call for a parent?
Yes. Most first calls come from a spouse or adult child. We are used to working with families and can arrange any necessary authorizations.
Will we have to file a lawsuit?
Not necessarily. Many New Hampshire families recover through trust claims and benefits without going to court. If a lawsuit makes sense, we will explain why before filing anything.
Are trust claims separate from lawsuits?
Yes. Trust claims are paperwork filed with bankruptcy trusts, separate from any court case. Trust payments are disclosed in litigation, and defendants may seek credit for them.
Can I file a New Hampshire claim if I no longer live in New Hampshire?
Often yes. New Hampshire courts may hear a case about exposure in New Hampshire even if the worker has moved away, but whether a court can hear the case against each company, and which state's law applies, depends on the facts. Many retired New Hampshire industrial workers have moved out of state.
What if the exposure happened at work?
Most asbestos cases are not against the worker's employer — they are against the manufacturers of the asbestos products and, in some cases, the owners of other companies' worksites. Workers' compensation bars direct claims against the employer but does not bar these third-party claims. Federal civil-service workers are covered by FECA instead.
What if the exposure happened through a spouse's work clothes?
No New Hampshire court has decided whether companies owed a duty to household members exposed through a worker's clothes. In a case about a Portsmouth Naval Shipyard worker's daughter, a federal trial court found the Navy negligent under Maine law, and a federal appeals court held the United States could be made to share responsibility (Dube, 1989). A household member's own claim against the United States has its own two-year administrative-claim deadline. A wife who laundered her husband's work clothes and later develops mesothelioma may still have claims against the product manufacturers and the trusts. This is one reason we offer free asbestos health screening to family members of our clients.
Are punitive damages available in New Hampshire asbestos cases?
No. New Hampshire law does not allow punitive damages. It does allow higher compensatory damages, called enhanced compensatory damages, where a company's conduct was wanton, malicious, or oppressive, but only in exceptional cases and on proof of actual malice.
How are wrongful-death damages calculated in New Hampshire?
The administrator recovers the worker's mental and physical pain, the expenses the illness caused, his lost earning capacity, and the value of the life lost. A surviving spouse can recover up to $500,000 for the loss of companionship, and each minor child up to $300,000 for the loss of a parent (limits in place since January 1, 2025). Adult children have no separate claim of their own.
Where will my New Hampshire case be filed?
Most New Hampshire mesothelioma cases are filed in New Hampshire Superior Court, in a county where the worker or another New Hampshire party lives (after a death, also where the administrator was appointed) — for example Rockingham County for most Seacoast families, Hillsborough County for Manchester and Nashua, Coös County for Berlin, Merrimack County for Concord and Bow, and Sullivan County for Claremont. Cases may also be filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire where federal jurisdiction exists.
Where did New Hampshire asbestos exposure happen?
The asbestos trusts' lists hold 277 New Hampshire entries across 60 communities, from 22 asbestos trusts. The worksite recognized by the most trusts is Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (at least 11 trusts, including Johns-Manville), which stands in Kittery, Maine. Others include the Brown Company mills at Berlin (at least 9), PSNH's Merrimack Station at Bow and Schiller Station at Portsmouth (at least 5 each), the Groveton paper mill and Dartmouth College (at least 5 each), the Claremont Paper Mill (at least 4), Seabrook Station and Pease Air Force Base (at least 4 each), and the Anheuser-Busch brewery at Merrimack (at least 3). See our New Hampshire Asbestos Exposure Sites page for site-by-site detail.
Talk with a New Hampshire mesothelioma lawyer
Whether your family is dealing with a new diagnosis, a very sick loved one, or a death from mesothelioma, we are ready to help. New Hampshire's deadlines are short, and evidence becomes harder to preserve as years pass.
You do not need to know the product names. You do not need to have all the records. You do not need to travel to our office. A spouse or adult child can call for the family.
Related resources
Sources and references
Statutes and rules
- RSA 508:4(I) — 3-year personal-injury statute of limitations with a statutory discovery rule (the injury and its causal relationship).
- RSA 508:4-b — 8-year repose for deficiencies in improvements to real property; does not protect owners or possessors in control.
- RSA 507-D:2 — product-liability limits, voided in Heath (1983).
- RSA 507:8-g — state-of-the-art defense in product-liability actions.
- RSA 507:7-d — comparative fault (aggregate approach).
- RSA 507:7-e(I)(b) — joint and several liability; several only for a party less than 50% at fault.
- RSA 507:7-e(I)(c) — common plan or design exception.
- RSA 507:7-e(III) — reallocation of uncollectible shares on motion within 60 days after final judgment.
- RSA 507:7-h, 507:7-i — settlement credits.
- RSA 507:9 — venue for transitory actions.
- RSA 507:16 — no punitive damages unless a statute provides.
- RSA 281-A:8 — workers' compensation exclusive remedy; intentional-tort exception for co-employees.
- RSA 281-A:13 — third-party actions, the employer's and carrier's lien, settlement approval.
- RSA 281-A:16, 281-A:19, 281-A:21-a — occupational-disease injury date, notice, and claim deadlines.
- RSA 556:9–556:14 — survival and wrongful death (combined statute).
- RSA 556:10 — a pending action continues if the administrator appears.
- RSA 556:11 — an action not pending at death: within 6 years, "subject to the provisions of RSA 508" (three years from death under Cheever and Anderson).
- RSA 556:12(I) — wrongful-death damages.
- RSA 556:12(II) — spouse's loss of comfort, society, and companionship, up to $500,000.
- RSA 556:12(III) — a minor child's or parent's loss of familial relationship, up to $300,000 per claimant.
- RSA 556:13 — $50,000 limit where the decedent left no spouse, child, parent, or dependent relative.
- N.H. Super. Ct. R. 45 — costs to the prevailing party.
- 5 U.S.C. §§ 8116(b), 8116(c), 8132 — FECA election of benefits, exclusivity, and third-party refund.
- 33 U.S.C. §§ 903(b), 905(a), 933 — LHWCA exclusion of federal employees, exclusivity, and third-party rules.
Cases
- Anderson v. Estate of Wood, 171 N.H. 524 (2018) — the wrongful-death three years run from the date of death.
- Cheever v. S. N.H. Reg'l Med. Ctr., 141 N.H. 589 (1997) — RSA 508:4's three years governs wrongful-death actions.
- Lozier v. Brown Co., 121 N.H. 67 (1981) — New Hampshire's death statute combines survival and wrongful death.
- Marcotte v. Timberlane/Hampstead Sch. Dist., 143 N.H. 331 (1999) — damages for the loss of life itself under RSA 556:12(I).
- Bennett v. Lembo, 145 N.H. 276 (2000) — loss of enjoyment of life in personal-injury cases.
- Buttrick v. Arthur Lessard & Sons, Inc., 110 N.H. 36 (1969); Thibault v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 118 N.H. 802 (1978) — strict products liability.
- Heath v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 123 N.H. 512 (1983) — voided RSA 507-D:2's product-liability limits.
- Phaneuf Funeral Home v. Little Giant Pump Co., 163 N.H. 727 (2012) — scope of the improvement repose for product makers and installers.
- Brannigan v. Usitalo, 134 N.H. 50 (1991) — noneconomic damages cap held unconstitutional.
- Bronson v. Hitchcock Clinic, 140 N.H. 798 (1996); Peterson v. Gray, 137 N.H. 374 (1993) — cause in fact and substantial factor (medical-negligence cases).
- Ouellette v. Blanchard, 116 N.H. 552 (1976) — reasonable care under all the circumstances for owners and occupiers of land.
- DeBenedetto v. CLD Consulting Eng'rs, Inc., 153 N.H. 793 (2006); Ocasio v. Fed. Express Corp., 162 N.H. 436 (2011) — fault apportioned to settling, immune, and absent parties, including the employer.
- Vratsenes v. N.H. Auto, Inc., 112 N.H. 71 (1972); Munson v. Raudonis, 118 N.H. 474 (1978) — enhanced compensatory damages for wanton, malicious, or oppressive conduct; actual malice.
- Clough v. Schwartz, 94 N.H. 138 (1946) — collateral source rule.
- Karch v. BayBank FSB, 147 N.H. 525 (2002) — no intentional-tort exception against the employer.
- Quinn v. National Gypsum Co., 124 N.H. 418 (1983) — no dual-capacity claim against an employer that made asbestos products.
- Dube v. Pittsburgh Corning, 870 F.2d 790 (1st Cir. 1989) — manufacturers' contribution claims against the United States over a Portsmouth Naval Shipyard worker's daughter's take-home exposure; Navy negligence found under Maine law; discretionary-function exception inapplicable.
- Boyle v. United Technologies Corp., 487 U.S. 500 (1988) — government-contractor defense.
Last reviewed: November 2026. The Law Offices of Justinian C. Lane, Esq. — PLLC | Round Rock, TX · Mesa, AZ · Redmond, WA. We partner with firms in every relevant jurisdiction so claims can be handled in the appropriate court or claims system.
This page is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Every asbestos case turns on its own facts, exposure history, diagnosis, deadlines, available evidence, and applicable law. Reviewing this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, call 833-4-ASBESTOS for a free case review.